As a second lieutenant, Kingston commanded Task Force Kingston in the early phase of the Korean War, driving his unit all the way to the Yalu River.[3]

Kingston commanded troops at each level from platoon to brigade. In 1970 he was assigned as the Deputy Secretary of the General Staff, Office of the Chief of Staff, U.S. Army. In June 1972 General Kingston returned to Vietnam where he was promoted to Brigadier General in December and served as Deputy Commanding General, Second Regional Assistance Command and as Deputy Senior Advisor, II Corps and Military Region 2.

In January 1973, Kingston assumed command of the Joint Casualty Resolution Center in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand. Upon his return to the United States in 1974, he assumed duties as Assistant Division Commander of the First Infantry Division and was promoted to Major General in September 1975. He assumed command of the US Army John F. Kennedy Center for Military Assistance and the U.S. Army Institute for Military Assistance at Fort Bragg in 1975. Leaving Fort Bragg, General Kingston assumed command of the Army's 2nd Infantry Division in Dongducheon, Korea and served as Commanding General from June 1979 – June 1981. Following his promotion to Lieutenant General in 1981 he assumed command of the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force, MacDill Air Force Base Florida. On November 6, 1984, he was promoted to general, and a year later he retired from active duty.